ZrAlON FILMS

ABSTRACT

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) can be used to form a dielectric layer of zirconium aluminum oxynitride (ZrAlON) for use in a variety of electronic devices. Forming the dielectric layer may include depositing zirconium oxide using atomic layer deposition and precursor chemicals, followed by depositing aluminum nitride using precursor chemicals, and repeating. The dielectric layer may be used as the gate insulator of a MOSFET, a capacitor dielectric, and a tunnel gate insulator in flash memories.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.11/498,578, filed Aug. 3, 2006, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to semiconductor devices and devicefabrication, including dielectric layers and their method offabrication.

BACKGROUND

The semiconductor industry has a constant market-driven competitiverequirement to reduce the size of electronic devices, such astransistors and capacitors, and to increase the operational speed of thedevice as well as reduce the device power consumption. To reducetransistor size, the thickness of the gate dielectric (typically silicondioxide, SiO₂) is reduced in proportion to the reduction in the gatelength. For example, a metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor(MOSFET) would use a 1.5 nm (i.e., 15 Å) thick SiO₂ gate dielectric fora gate channel length of less than 100 nm (i.e., 0.14 This scaling ofgate dielectric thickness may be the most difficult issue facing theproduction of new generations of MOSFETs. Increasingly small, faster,lower power consumption and more reliable integrated circuits (ICs) willlikely be used in manufacturing products such as processor chips, mobiletelephones, and memory devices such as dynamic random access memories(DRAMs).

A thermally grown amorphous SiO₂ layer provides a good electrically andthermodynamically stable material, where the interface of the SiO₂ layerwith underlying silicon provides a high quality interface as well assuperior electrical isolation properties. However, continued scaling inmicroelectronic devices may develop reliability and leakage issues asthe gate dielectric becomes thinner, such as increased leakage currentspassing through the thinner gate dielectric, and time dependentdielectric breakdown.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an atomic layer deposition system for fabricating adielectric layer, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of elements of a method to form adielectric layer by atomic layer deposition, according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a transistor having a dielectric layer containing anatomic layer deposited dielectric layer, according to variousembodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a capacitor having a dielectric layer containing an atomiclayer deposited dielectric layer, according to various embodiments;

FIG. 5 is a simplified diagram of a controller coupled to an electronicdevice containing an atomic layer deposited dielectric layer, accordingto various embodiments; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of an electronic system having devices witha dielectric film formed by atomic layer deposition, according tovarious embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The scaling of the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors(MOSFETs) to submicron features sizes in order to increase operationalspeed, decrease power consumption, and increase reliability may beassisted by a corresponding reduction in the gate dielectric thickness.Although thermally grown amorphous silicon dioxide SiO₂ is often used inthese applications, the thinner layers of silicon dioxide sometimesdevelop reliability and performance issues. As the silicon dioxidethickness is reduced to about 2.5 nm, gate leakage currents of one ampper square centimeter may flow through the dielectric due to directtunneling. Such a problem may occur in many dielectric materials as thethickness approaches the tunneling thickness. Larger capacitance perunit area across the gate dielectric to control the electricalproperties of the semiconductor material below the gate dielectric maybe achieved, in some cases, by making the gate dielectric thinner. Onthe other hand, to obtain the desired capacitance per unit area withoutusing leakage-prone dielectric layers, it may be beneficial to usephysically thicker layers of dielectric materials that have higherdielectric constant (k) values than silicon dioxide. Thus, a physicallythicker layer of a high dielectric constant material may electricallyact like a much thinner layer of silicon dioxide, perhaps with reducedleakage and breakdown problems.

For example, it is sometimes possible to use thicker layers of zirconiumaluminum oxide and oxynitrides to replace thinner silicon dioxide layerswithout changing the electrical properties of the transistor due to thehigher dielectric constant. A gate dielectric in a transistor has both aphysical gate dielectric thickness and an equivalent oxide thickness(t_(eq)). The equivalent oxide thickness quantifies the electricalproperties, such as capacitance, of the gate dielectric in terms of arepresentative physical thickness. The t_(eq) may be defined as thethickness of a theoretical SiO₂ layer that has the same capacitancedensity as a given dielectric, ignoring leakage current and reliabilityconsiderations.

To continue the example, consider that silicon dioxide has a typical kvalue of 3.9, while a layer of zirconium aluminum oxynitride (ZrAlON)has a k value of around 18. Thus, a 4.5 nm layer of ZrAlON will have at_(eq) of about 1.0 nm of silicon dioxide. A transistor having a 45 Ågate dielectric thickness of zirconium aluminum oxynitride will behaveapproximately the same as a transistor having a 10 Å layer of silicondioxide as the gate dielectric, but with fewer tunnel leakage anddielectric breakdown problems associated with thin dielectric layers.

A SiO₂ layer of thickness, t, deposited on a Si surface as a gatedielectric is expected to have a t_(eq) larger than its physicalthickness, t. This t_(eq) results from the capacitance in the surfacechannel on which the SiO₂ is deposited due to the formation of adepletion/inversion region. This depletion/inversion region can resultin t_(eq) being from 3 to 6 Angstroms (Å) larger than the SiO₂thickness, t. Thus, with the semiconductor industry driving to somedayscale the gate dielectric equivalent oxide thickness to under 10 Å, thephysical thickness used for a SiO₂ layer in a gate dielectric should beapproximately 4 to 7 Å.

Additional characteristics of a SiO₂ layer might depend on the gateelectrode used in conjunction with the SiO₂ gate dielectric. Using aconventional polysilicon gate can result in an additional increase int_(eq) for the SiO₂ layer. This additional thickness might be eliminatedby using a metal gate electrode, though metal gates are not as popularfor use in typical complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field effecttransistor (CMOS) technology. Thus, future devices may have to bedesigned with a physical SiO₂ gate dielectric layer of about 5 Å orless.

Silicon dioxide is used as a gate dielectric, in part, due to itselectrical isolation properties in a SiO₂—Si based structure. Thiselectrical isolation is due to the relatively large band gap of SiO₂(8.9 eV), resulting in a relatively good insulator. However, as thethickness of a SiO₂ layer decreases, the number of atomic layers, ormonolayers of the material in the thickness typically decreases. At somelevel of reduced thickness, the number of monolayers may be so smallthat the SiO₂ layer will not have the complete arrangement of atomsfound in a thicker, or bulk layer. As a result of incomplete formationrelative to a bulk structure, a thin SiO₂ layer of only one or twomonolayers may fail to form a full band gap. The lack of a full band gapin a SiO₂ gate dielectric may cause an effective short between anunderlying conductive silicon channel and an overlying polysilicon gate.This undesirable property tends to limit the physical thickness to whicha SiO₂ layer can be scaled. The minimum thickness due to this monolayereffect is thought to be about 7-8 Å. Therefore, for future devices tohave a t_(eq) less than about 10 Å, other dielectrics than SiO₂ shouldbe considered for use as a gate dielectric.

For a typical dielectric layer used as a gate dielectric, thecapacitance may be determined as in a parallel plate capacitance: C=κ∈₀A/t, where κ is the dielectric constant, ∈₀ is the permittivity of freespace, A is the area of the capacitor, and t is the thickness of thedielectric. The thickness, t, of a material may be related to its t_(eq)for a given capacitance, with SiO₂ having a dielectric constant κ_(ox),=3.9, as

t=(κ/κ_(ox))t _(eq)=(κ/3.9)t _(eq).

Thus, materials with a dielectric constant greater than that of SiO₂ mayhave a physical thickness that can be considerably larger than a desiredt_(eq), while providing the desired equivalent oxide thickness. Forexample, an alternate dielectric material with a dielectric constant of10 could have a thickness of about 25.6 Å to provide a t_(eq) of 10 Å,not including any depletion/inversion layer effects. Thus, a reducedequivalent oxide thickness for transistors can be realized by usingdielectric materials with higher dielectric constants than SiO₂.

An equivalent oxide thickness for lower transistor operating voltagesand smaller transistor dimensions may be realized by using materialsthat have higher dielectric constants than silicon dioxide. However,additional fabrication requirements can make determining a suitablereplacement for SiO₂ difficult. Since the current view for the future ofthe microelectronics industry still predicts silicon based devices, itis useful to consider the deposition or growth of gate dielectrics on asilicon substrate or silicon layer. During the formation of thedielectric on the silicon layer, there exists the possibility that athin layer of SiO₂ could be formed in addition to the desireddielectric. The result may comprise a dielectric layer having twosub-layers connected with each other, and the silicon layer on which thedielectric is formed. In such a case, the resulting capacitance may bedetermined as that of two dielectrics in series. Thus, the t_(eq) of thedielectric layer may be considered as the sum of the SiO₂ thickness anda multiplicative factor of the thickness t of the dielectric beingformed, written as

t _(eq) =t _(SiO) ₂ +(κ_(ox)/κ)t.

Thus, if a SiO₂ layer is formed in the deposition process, the t_(eq)may again be limited by a SiO₂ layer. In the event that a barrier layeris formed between the silicon layer and the desired dielectric in whichthe barrier layer prevents the formation of a SiO₂ layer, the t_(eq) maybe limited by the layer with the lowest dielectric constant. However,whether a single dielectric layer with a high dielectric constant or abarrier layer with a higher dielectric constant than SiO₂ is employed,the layer directly in contact, or interfacing with the silicon layershould provide a high quality interface to maintain high channel carriermobility.

One of the advantages of using SiO₂ as a gate dielectric has been thatthe formation of the SiO₂ layer results in an amorphous gate dielectric.Amorphous gate dielectrics can provide reduced leakage current problemsassociated with grain boundaries in polycrystalline gate dielectrics.Additionally, grain size and orientation changes throughout apolycrystalline gate dielectric can cause variations in the film'sdielectric constant, along with uniformity and surface topographyproblems. Typically, materials having the advantage of a high dielectricconstant relative to SiO₂ may have the disadvantage of a crystallineform, either as deposited, or after heat cycling.

Some of the best candidates for replacing SiO₂ as a gate dielectric arethose with high dielectric constant, which can be fabricated as a thinlayer with an amorphous form. These include high k dielectric materialsthat also have a large energy gap (E_(g)) and large energy barrierheights with the silicon substrate for both electrons and holes.Generally, the band gap may be inversely related to the dielectricconstant, which lessens some advantages of high k materials. Candidatematerials include various lanthanide silicates, hafnium oxide (HfO₂),aluminum oxide (AlO₃), zirconium oxide (ZrO₂) and zirconium nitrideZr₃N₄ and combinations of these materials, such as zirconium aluminumoxynitride (ZrAlO_(X)N_(Y)). Such high dielectric constant layersprovide a significantly thinner equivalent oxide thickness compared witha silicon oxide layer having the same physical thickness. Alternately,such dielectric layers provide a significantly thicker physicalthickness than a silicon oxide layer having the same equivalent oxidethickness. This increased physical thickness can reduce leakage current,in particular the leakage current caused by tunneling mechanisms.

The use of high dielectric constant materials for gate dielectrics inelectronic devices therefore has the potential to improve leakage andbreakdown over the use of very thin silicon dioxide layers. How toprovide the high dielectric constant material for the gate dielectric isthe next issue, and a discussion of the basics of atomic layerdeposition (ALD) will provide an understanding of how this depositionmethod may be used in this situation.

ALD, which may also be known as atomic layer epitaxy (ALE), is amodification of the well known deposition method chemical vapordeposition (CVD) and may also be called “alternatively pulsed-CVD”. InALD, precursor chemicals are typically introduced one at a time to thesubstrate surface mounted within a reaction chamber (or reactor). Theprecursors may be gas, liquid or solid, and may be evaporated, sublimed,boiled, bubbled or entrained into a gaseous flow for introduction intothe vacuum reaction chamber. This introduction of the precursors takesthe form of pulses of each precursor. In a pulse, the precursor is madeto flow into a specific area or region for a short period of time.Between pulses the reaction chamber is purged with a gas, which may bean inert gas, and/or evacuated.

In the first reaction step of the ALD process the first precursorsaturates and may be chemisorbed (or adsorbed) at the substrate surface,during the first pulsing phase. Subsequent pulsing with a purging gasremoves excess precursor from the reaction chamber, usually that portionof the precursor that has not been chemisorbed onto the substratesurface.

The second pulsing phase may introduce a second precursor chemical tothe substrate where the growth reaction of the desired film takes place,with a thickness depending upon the amount of the chemisorbed firstprecursor. Subsequent to the film growth reaction, reaction byproductsand precursor excess may be purged from the reaction chamber. With aprecursor chemistry where the precursors adsorb and react with eachother on the substrate aggressively, one ALD cycle can be performed in afew seconds in properly designed flow type reaction chambers. Typically,precursor pulse times are about 0.5 sec to 3 seconds.

In ALD processes, the saturation of all the reaction and purging phasesmakes the film growth self-limiting. This self-limiting growth resultsin large area uniformity and conformality, which has importantapplications for such cases as planar substrates, deep trenches, and inthe processing of porous silicon and high surface area silica andalumina powders. ALD can operate to control film thickness in astraightforward manner by controlling the number of growth cycles.

The precursors used in an ALD process may be gaseous, liquid or solid.However, liquid or solid precursors may be volatile with high vaporpressures or low sublimation temperatures. The vapor pressure should behigh enough for effective mass transportation. In addition, solidprecursors, and some liquid precursors may work better when heatedinside the reaction chamber and introduced through heated tubes to thesubstrates. The necessary vapor pressure should be reached at atemperature below the substrate temperature to avoid condensation ofprecursors on the substrate. Due to the self-limiting growth mechanismsof ALD, relatively low vapor pressure solid precursors may be used,though evaporation rates may vary somewhat during the process because ofchanges in their surface area.

There are several other characteristics which may be present forprecursors used in ALD. The precursors should be thermally stable at thesubstrate temperature because their decomposition can destroy thesurface control and accordingly the advantages of the ALD method thatuses the reaction of the precursor at the substrate surface. A slightdecomposition, if slow compared to the ALD growth, may be tolerated.

The precursors should chemisorb on, or react with the surface, thoughthe interaction between the precursor and the surface as well as themechanism for the adsorption can be different for different precursors.The molecules at the substrate surface should react aggressively withthe second precursor, which may be called a reactant, to form thedesired solid film. Additionally, precursors should not react with thefilm to cause etching, and precursors should not dissolve in the film.The use of highly reactive precursors in ALD may contrast with theprecursors for conventional metallo-organic CVD (MOCVD) type reactions.The by-products in the reaction should be gaseous in order to allowtheir easy removal from the reaction chamber during a purge stage.Further, it may be useful if the by-products do not react or adsorb onthe surface.

In a reaction sequence ALD process, the self-limiting process sequencemay involve sequential surface chemical reactions, such as the chemistrybetween a reactive surface and a reactive molecular precursor. In manyALD processes, molecular precursors can be pulsed into the ALD reactionchamber separately. The precursor reaction at the substrate is typicallyfollowed by an inert gas pulse (or purge) to remove excess precursor andby-products from the reaction chamber prior to an input pulse of thenext precursor of the fabrication sequence.

By the use of ALD processes, films can be layered in substantially equalmetered sequences that are all substantially the same with respect tochemical kinetics, deposition thickness per cycle, and composition. ALDsequences generally deposit less than a full layer of the depositedmaterial (for example zirconium oxide) per deposition cycle. Typically,a deposition or growth rate of about 0.25 to about 2.00 Å per ALD cyclecan be realized.

The advantages of ALD include continuity at an interface avoiding poorlydefined nucleating regions that are typical for thin chemical vapordeposition (<20 Å) and physical vapor deposition (<50 Å), conformalityover a variety of substrate topologies due to its layer-by-layerdeposition technique, use of low temperature and mildly oxidizingprocesses, lack of dependence on the reaction chamber, growth thicknessdependent solely on the number of cycles performed, and the ability toengineer multilayer laminate films with a resolution of one to twomonolayers. ALD processes sometimes permit deposition control on theorder of single monolayers and the ability to deposit monolayers ofamorphous films.

A cycle of an ALD deposition sequence can include pulsing a precursormaterial, pulsing a purging gas for the precursor, pulsing a reactantprecursor, and pulsing the reactant's purging gas, resulting in adeposition thickness that is a function of the amount of the firstprecursor that adsorbs onto, and saturates, the surface. This cycle maybe repeated until the desired thickness is achieved in a single materialdielectric layer, or may be alternated with pulsing a third precursormaterial, pulsing a purging gas for the third precursor, pulsing afourth reactant precursor, and pulsing the fourth reactant's purginggas.

In the case where the thickness of the first series of cycles results ina dielectric layer that is only a few molecular layers thick, and thesecond series of cycles also results in a different dielectric layerthat is only a few molecular layers thick, this may be known as ananolayer material or a nanolaminate. A nanolaminate means a compositefilm of ultra thin layers of two or more different materials in alayered stack, where the layers are alternating layers of the differentmaterials having a thickness on the order of a nanometer, and may be acontinuous film only a single monolayer thick of the material. Thenanolayers are not limited to alternating single layers of eachmaterial, but may include having several layers of one materialalternating with a single layer of the other material, to obtain adesired ratio of the two or more materials. Such an arrangement mayobtain a dielectric constant that is between the values of the two ormore materials singly. The different materials may remain separate afterdeposition, or they may react with each other to form an alloy layer.

Another consideration for selecting the material and method for forminga dielectric film for use in electronic devices and systems concerns theroughness of a dielectric film on a substrate. Surface roughness of thedielectric film has a significant effect on the electrical properties ofthe gate oxide, and the resulting operating characteristics of thetransistor. The leakage current through a physical 1.0 nm gatedielectric may increase by a factor of 10 for every 0.1 increase in theroot-mean-square (RMS) roughness of the dielectric layer.

During a conventional sputtering deposition process, particles of thematerial to be deposited may bombard the surface at a high energy. Whena particle hits the surface, some particles may adhere, and otherparticles may cause damage. High energy impacts can remove body regionparticles, creating pits. The surface of such a deposited layer may havea rough contour due to the rough interface at the body region. ALDdepositions, on the other hand, may have high conformality, being smoothon smooth substrates.

FIG. 1 shows various embodiments of an ALD system 100 for forming adielectric film containing zirconium nitride and zirconium oxide. InFIG. 1, a substrate 108 on a heating element/wafer holder 106 may belocated inside a reaction chamber 102 of ALD system 100. The heatingelement 106 may be thermally coupled to substrate 108 to control thesubstrate temperature. A gas-distribution fixture 110 can introduceprecursor, reactant and purge gases to the substrate 108 in a uniformfashion. The gases introduced by the gas distribution fixture 110,sometimes referred to as a showerhead, may react with the substrate 108,and excess gases and reaction products may be removed from chamber 102by a vacuum pump 104 through a control valve 105. Each gas may originatefrom individual gas sources 114, 118, 122, 126, 130, and 134, with aflow rate and time controlled by mass-flow controllers 116, 120, 124,128, 132 and 136, respectively. Gas sources 122 and 130 may provide aprecursor gas either by storing the precursor as a gas or by evaporatinga solid or liquid material to form the selected precursor gas.

Also included in the system 100 may be purging gas sources 114 and 118,coupled to mass-flow controllers 116 and 120, respectively. One or moreof the purge gases may be used in the disclosed illustrative purgingsteps, substantially simultaneously, or alternately, or in some othercombination, as desired for the particular desired result. Furthermore,additional purging gas sources can be constructed in the ALD system 100,including one purging gas source for each different precursor andreactant gas, for example. For a process that uses the same purging gasfor multiple precursor gases, fewer purging gas sources may be used. Theprecursor, reactant and purge gas sources may be coupled by theirassociated mass-flow controllers to a common gas line or conduit 112,which is coupled to the gas-distribution fixture 110 inside the reactionchamber 102. Gas conduit 112 may also be coupled to another vacuum pump,or exhaust pump, not shown, to remove excess precursor gases, purginggases, and by-product gases at the end of a purging sequence from thegas conduit 112.

The vacuum pump, or exhaust pump, 104 may be coupled to the chamber 102by a control valve 105, which may comprise a mass-flow valve, to removeexcess precursor gases, purging gases, and by-product gases fromreaction chamber 102 at the end of a purging sequence. For convenience,control displays, mounting apparatus, temperature sensing devices,substrate maneuvering apparatus, and electrical connections known tothose skilled in the art are not shown in FIG. 1. Though the ALD system100 shown in FIG. 1 is well suited for depositing ZrO₂ and Zr₃N₄ films,other commercially available ALD systems may also be used.

The use, construction and operation of reaction chambers for depositionof films are understood by those of ordinary skill in the art ofsemiconductor fabrication. A variety of such commercially availablereaction chambers may be used. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in theart will comprehend the detection, measurement, and control techniquesused in the art of semiconductor fabrication that are not specificallydisclosed herein, and those skilled in the art will also appreciate,after reviewing this disclosure, that the individual elements such aspressure control, temperature control, and gas flow within ALD system100 can be under computer control.

The ALD system of FIG. 1 may be used to form electronic devices having ahigh dielectric constant, with a smooth surface and low surfaceroughness, a low interface state density, and an amorphous structure forgate dielectrics. In some embodiments, the dielectric may comprisezirconium aluminum oxynitride, which may be referred to as ZrAlON,though the proper formula is Zr_(A)Al_(B)O_(X)N_(Y), where A plus B istypically equal to 2, A ranges from 0.5-1.5, B ranges from 0.5-1.5, andX plus Y is typically equal to 2, X ranges from 0.5-1.5, and Y rangesfrom 0.5-1.5.

In some embodiments, the ZrAlON dielectric layer may be deposited as aseries of identical layers of ZrAlON, each layer deposited by a singlecycle of ALD. In some embodiments, the ZrAlON dielectric may bedeposited as interleaved layers of Zr₃N₄ and Al₂O₃, and the interleavedlayers of Zr₃N₄ and Al₂O₃ may be annealed to form a single layer ofZrAlON. In some embodiments, the ZrAlON dielectric layer may bedeposited as a series of interleaved layers of ZrO₂ and AlN, and may beannealed to form a single layer of ZrAlON.

Zirconium nitride has a formula of Zr₃N₄ and a dielectric constant k ofabout 30. Zirconium nitride films can be atomic layer deposited usingvarious homoleptic tetrakis(dialkylamino) metal (IV) complexes asprecursors, such as Zr[N(CH₃)(C₂H₅)]₄, and ammonia NH₃ at 150° C. to250° C. deposition temperature. Other known types oftetrakis(dialkylamino) metal (IV) compounds may also be used, such astetrakis dimethlyamine, Zr[N(CH₃)₂]₄ or tetrakis diethlyamine,Zr[N(C₂H₅)₂]₄. Zirconium nitride is a material having various stableformulae, including zirconium mononitride, which is shiny, gold colored,and highly electrically conductive, making it useful as an impuritydiffusion barrier between the metallization conductor material and thesemiconductor substrate. Another zirconium nitride, having a formula ofZr₃N₄, is a higher order nitride and has different properties from themononitride, such as being transparent, electrically insulating, andhaving a high dielectric constant, making it useful as a gate insulator.Zr₃N₄ is also thermally stable and may be annealed at temperatures of upto 900° C.

Zirconium oxide has a formula of ZrO₂, a dielectric constant k of about19 to 24, a high dielectric breakdown voltage of about 2 MeV, and a lowleakage rate of about 1.1×10⁻⁷ A/cm² at a 1 MV/cm electric fieldstrength. Zirconium oxide layers can be atomic layer deposited (ALD)using various precursors such as zirconium tetraiodide ZrI₄ and amixture of steam and hydrogen peroxide at temperatures between 325 to500° C., or zirconium tetrachloride ZrCl₄ and steam at 275 to 325° C.Zirconium oxide layers may also be deposited using homoleptictetrakis(dialkylamino) metal (IV) or tetrakis dimethly amine(Zr[N(CH₄)₂]₄) complexes and steam at deposition temperatures between200 to 300° C. Water vapor mixed with hydrogen peroxide, oxygen gas, orozone may also be used as the reactant material forming the zirconiumoxide. In an embodiment the deposition temperature is between 275 to325° C. Another precursor for zirconium ALD is zirconiumtertiary-butoxide (Zr(t-OC₄H₉)₄), or ZTB, which has a higher vaporpressure as compared to other liquid precursors, and is easier to use atroom temperature in ALD processes.

Aluminum oxide has a formula of Al₂O₃, and while having a lowerdielectric constant (around 10.0) than zirconium oxide (around 19-24),it does have a larger bandgap of 8.8-9.0 eV, and a large band gapoffset, both of which help in reducing tunneling leakage current levels.Aluminum oxide also may remain amorphous at temperatures of up to 1000°C. and can provide a better oxygen barrier than zirconium compounds,which helps prevent oxidation of the silicon surface under the gatedielectric during subsequent thermal cycles, thus avoiding the formationof a native oxide and the two capacitors in series issue discussedpreviously. Aluminum oxide layers may be formed by ALD by use oftrimethyl aluminum (Al(CH₃)₃) at a temperature range of 200-300° C. withwater vapor as a reactant. Another aluminum precursor is alane (AlH₃),and dimethyl-ethylamine (N(CH₃)₂(C₂H₅)), known as DMEAA, which has ahigher vapor pressure at room temperature and thus is easier to use in avacuum system as a precursor. DMEAA may also have better long termstability and films formed using DMEAA can have less trapped carbon andchlorine.

A layer of ZrAlON dielectric may be grown by ALD using a mixed precursorof zirconium tertiary-butoxide (Zr(t-OC₄H₉)₄), which is known as ZTB,and trimethyl-aluminum (Al(CH₃)₃), which is know as TMA. The mixedprecursor of ZTB and TMA may be introduced to the vacuum chamber at asubstrate temperature of from 200 to 300° C., and a chamber walltemperature of 150° C. to prevent condensation, for a time of from 0.3to 1.0 seconds. A purge of argon may be introduced for a time period of5 seconds, followed by a reactant introduction of water vapor for a timeperiod of from 0.5 to 1.0 seconds. The resulting single layer of ZrAlONmay have a controlled thickness for each deposition cycle that is afunction of the saturation of the substrate surface with the particularprecursors chosen. If repetitive layers of ZrAlON are grown upon oneanother, then the resulting film may have a thickness that is moreeasily controlled by simply controlling the number of deposition cycles.The surface of the ALD layer formed may also be relatively smooth andcontinuous, even over sharp underlying topography.

One of the useful properties of ALD in forming dielectric layers is thehigh level of what is known as “step coverage”, even over sharp edgesand in trenches having aspect ratios of depth to width of 40 to 1. Insome embodiments, the zirconium oxide layer has 100% step coverage over90 degree angle steps.

A ZrAlON layer may also be formed by alternating between two differentdielectrics, such as forming a layer of zirconium nitride as discussedabove, followed by a layer of aluminum oxide, as described above, andrepeating until the desired thickness is obtained. The resultinglaminated film may be used as is, or may be annealed at a hightemperature, for example by rapid thermal annealing (RTA), to form anessentially single ZrAlON layer having any desired content ratio betweenzirconium and aluminum, and between oxygen and nitrogen, to obtain thedesired dielectric constant, work function, tunneling barrier asymmetryand oxidation barrier properties. Alternately, the ZrAlON layer may beformed from layers of zirconium oxide and aluminum nitride, and theresulting film may either comprise a nanolaminate of the two differentdielectrics, or the two or more dielectrics may be annealed to form asingle film. In either case the film properties may vary depending uponthe ratio of the two or more different materials, and thus materials maybe formed that have engineered properties. In some embodiments, thedielectric layer has a dielectric constant k value of about 19.

In some embodiments, a layer of ZrAlON may be formed on a substratemounted in a reaction chamber using ALD. Alternately, multiple layersmay be formed in a repetitive sequence using precursor gasesindividually pulsed into the reaction chamber. Some embodiments includeforming zirconium nitride layers using a precursor gas such as zirconiumtetrakisdimethylamine having a chemical formula of Zr[N(CH₄)₂]₄, and areactant of ammonia NH₃ at deposition temperatures as low as 150 to 250°C. Some embodiments include forming the zirconium oxide layers using azirconium tetraiodide ZrI₄, and a reactant of water vapor and hydrogenperoxide at a deposition temperature of between 325 to 500° C. Someembodiments include using zirconium tetrachloride ZrCl₄, and a reactantof steam at about 300° C. for the zirconium oxide. Other solid or liquidprecursors, such as homoleptic (tetrakisdialkyloamido) metal (IV)complexes of zirconium including Zr[(CH₃)₂]₄, Zr[(C₂H₅)₂]₄, andZr[(CH₃)(C₂H₅)]₄ may be used in appropriately designed reactionchambers. The use of such precursors in an ALD reaction chamber mayresult in lower deposition temperatures in the range of 150 to 350° C.,and the ability to use mildly oxidizing reactant materials such as H₂O,H₂O₂, various alcohols, N₂O, NH₃, ozone or oxygen. Purge gases mayinclude nitrogen, hydrogen, or inert gases such as helium, argon orneon. Such films may survive high temperature anneals (used to reducefixed surface state charges and improve metal to semiconductorresistance) of up to 1000° C., and have leakage currents of less than1.1×10⁻⁷ A/cm² at electric field strengths of one MVolt/cm.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of operational steps for variousembodiments of a method to form a ZrAlON layer by ALD. At block 202, asubstrate may be prepared to react immediately with, and chemisorb thefirst precursor gas. This preparation may serve to remove contaminantssuch as thin organic films, dirt, and native oxide from the surface ofthe substrate, and may include a hydrofluoric acid rinse, or a sputteretch in the reaction chamber 102.

At block 204 a first precursor material may enter the reaction chamberfor a predetermined length of time, for example 0.5-2.0 seconds. Thefirst precursor material may be chemically adsorbed (chemisorbed) ontothe surface of the substrate, the amount depending upon the temperatureof the substrate, in one embodiment 250° C., and the presence ofsufficient flow of the precursor material. In addition, the pulsing ofthe precursor may use a pulsing period that provides uniform coverage ofa chemisorbed monolayer on the substrate surface, or may use a pulsingperiod that provides partial formation of a monolayer on the substratesurface.

At block 206 a first purge gas may enter the reaction chamber for apredetermined length of time, perhaps sufficient to remove substantiallyall of the non-chemisorbed first precursor material. Typical times maybe 0.5-2.0 seconds with the purge gas comprising one or more ofnitrogen, argon, neon and hydrogen.

At block 208 a first reactant gas may enter the chamber for apredetermined length of time, perhaps sufficient to provide enough ofthe reactant to chemically combine with substantially the entire amountof chemisorbed first precursor material on the surface of the substrate.Typical reactant materials include mildly oxidizing materials,including, but not limited to, water vapor, hydrogen peroxide, nitrogenoxides, ammonia, ozone and oxygen gas, and combinations thereof.

At block 210 a second purge gas, which may be the same as the firstpurge gas, may enter the chamber for a predetermined length of time,sufficient to remove substantially all non-reacted materials andreaction byproducts from the chamber.

At block 212 a decision may be made as to whether or not the thicknessof the first dielectric material in the dielectric has reached thedesired thickness, or whether another deposition cycle should beeffected. If another deposition cycle of the first dielectric materialis used, then the operation returns to 204, until the desired firstdielectric layer is completed. If the initial layer of the firstdielectric material is at or above the desired thickness, the processmay move on to a decision as to whether a second dielectric materialshould be formed at block 214. In some embodiments, using a mixedprecursor of ZTB and TMA as discussed above, the first dielectric layermay comprise ZrAlON, and no second dielectric layer is formed, since thefinal desired dielectric comprises multiple single ALD cycle layers ofZrAlON, each having a thickness of about 2 Å. In this case, the methodmay go directly to the end at block 216. If the first dielectric iszirconium nitride, then a second dielectric may be desired, and themethod may proceed to block 218.

At block 218, the deposition of the second dielectric material may beginwhen a second precursor material enters the reaction chamber for apredetermined length of time, typically 0.3-2.0 seconds. The secondprecursor material may be chemically adsorbed onto the surface of thesubstrate, in this case being the top surface of the first dielectricmaterial, with the amount of absorption depending upon the temperatureof the substrate, and the presence of sufficient flow of the secondprecursor material. In addition, the precursor may use a pulsing periodthat provides substantially uniform coverage of an adsorbed monolayer onthe substrate surface, or may use a pulsing period that provides partialformation of a monolayer on the substrate surface.

At block 220 the first purge gas may enter the chamber, but manyembodiments are not so limited. The purge gas used in the seconddielectric material deposition may be the same or different from eitherof the two previously noted purge gases, and FIG. 1 could be shown ashaving more than the two purge gases. The purge cycle may continue for apredetermined length of time sufficient to remove substantially all ofthe non-chemisorbed second precursor material.

At block 222 a second reactant gas, which may be the same or differentfrom the first reactant gas shown at 208, may enter the chamber for apredetermined length of time, sufficient to provide enough of thereactant to chemically combine with substantially all the amount ofchemisorbed second precursor material on the surface of the substrate.At block 224 another purge gas may enter the chamber, which may be thesame or different from any of the three previously discussed purgegases, for a predetermined length of time, perhaps sufficient to removesubstantially all non-reacted materials and reaction byproducts from thechamber.

At block 226 a decision is made as to whether or not the thickness ofthe second dielectric material in the (laminated) dielectric has reachedthe desired thickness, or whether another deposition cycle is desired.If another deposition cycle is used, then the method returns to block218, until the desired initial second dielectric layer is completed. Thedesired thicknesses of the first and second dielectric materials in thedielectric may be the same, or different, and there may be moredeposition cycles for one dielectric material as compared to the other.If the second dielectric layer has reached the desired thickness, themethod may move on to a decision at block 228 as to whether the numberof layers of the first and second dielectric materials have reached adesired number. In this illustrative embodiment, a single layer of thefirst dielectric (having a desired thickness), and a single layer of thesecond dielectric (having a desired thickness), have been completed atthis point in the process. If more than a single layer of eachdielectric material is desired, the method can move back to anotherdeposition of the first dielectric material at block 204, and the entireprocess can repeat itself. After the number of interleaved layers ofdielectrics one and two has reached the desired value, the depositionmethod may end at block 230.

The embodiments described herein may provide a process for growing adielectric film having a range of useful equivalent oxide thickness,t_(eq), associated with a dielectric constant in the range from about 16to about 19 (in some embodiments). For an acceptable equivalent silicondioxide thickness, an embodiment using zirconium aluminum oxynitride(ZrAlON) may have a physical thickness that is more than four timeslarger than the equivalent silicon dioxide thickness, perhaps providingan enhanced probability of reducing leakage current, especially due totunneling mechanisms. The aluminum oxide component may also reduceZrAlON film oxygen permeability and parasitic silicon dioxide grown onthe underlying silicon surface during subsequent heat cycles. Theprocess may be implemented to form transistors, capacitors, memorydevices, and other electronic structures and systems, includinginformation handling devices.

FIG. 3 illustrates various embodiments of a transistor and a dielectriclayer containing an ALD deposited ZrAlON gate oxide dielectric layer.This embodiment may be implemented with the system 100 of FIG. 1 used asan ALD system. A substrate 302 is prepared, typically comprising siliconor a silicon-containing material. In other embodiments, germanium,gallium arsenide, silicon-on-sapphire substrates, or other suitablesubstrates 302 may also be used. The preparation process may includecleaning the substrate 302 and forming various layers and regions of thesubstrate, such as a drain diffusion 304 and a source diffusion 306 ofan illustrative metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor 300. Thesource and drain regions may be formed prior to forming a gatedielectric and gate electrode, or they may be formed after the gateelectrode using a self-aligning process known to those of skill in theart. The substrate 302, which may comprise a silicon-based substrate,may be cleaned to provide an initial substrate depleted of its nativeoxide. The initial substrate 302 may be cleaned to provide ahydrogen-terminated surface. The substrate 302 may undergo a finalhydrofluoric (HF) rinse prior to ALD processing to provide the substrate302 with a hydrogen-terminated surface without a native silicon oxidelayer. Cleaning immediately preceding ALD may aid in reducing anoccurrence of silicon oxide as an interface between a silicon-basedsubstrate and a dielectric formed using the ALD process. The sequencingof the formation of the regions of the transistor being processed mayfollow the generally understood fabrication of a MOS transistor, as iswell known to those skilled in the art.

The dielectric covering the area on the substrate 302 between the sourceand drain diffused regions 304 and 306 may be deposited by ALD in thisillustrative embodiment, and may comprise one or more ZrAlON dielectriclayers 308, 310, 312, 314 and 316, to obtain the desired final gatedielectric thickness. Alternatively, the gate dielectric may be formedof interleaved and non-interleaved layers 308, 310, 312, 314, and 316 ofvarying thickness of aluminum oxide and zirconium nitride. A laminateddielectric layer is typically referred to as the gate oxide, and whileshown as distinct and individual layers for clarity in FIG. 3, maycomprise a single annealed layer. There may be a diffusion barrier layerinserted between the first dielectric layer 308 and the substrate 302 toprevent metal contamination from affecting the electrical properties ofthe device. The illustrative embodiment of FIG. 3 shows the variouslayers 308, 310, 312, 314, and 316 having the same thickness; howeverthe desired dielectric properties of the overall dielectric film may bebest achieved by adjusting the ratio of the thicknesses of the differentdielectric layers to different values, as discussed above in anembodiment having two different materials. The transistor 300 may have aconductive material forming a gate 318, but the dielectric may also beused in a floating gate device such as an EEPROM (electrically-erasableprogrammable read-only memory) transistor, as either one or both of thefloating gate and the control gate oxide layers. The conductive materialmay comprise polysilicon, various metals, refractory metals, metalnitrides, and metal silicides. The conductive material may be thermallytreated or furnace annealed in a H₂ ambient after forming and patterningthe metallization layer.

In an illustrative embodiment, the gate dielectric (comprising layers308-316) may include a tunnel gate insulator and a floating gatedielectric in a flash memory device. Use of dielectric layers containingan atomic layer deposited dielectric layer for a gate dielectric and/orfloating gate dielectric in which the dielectric layer contacts aconductive layer is not limited to silicon-based substrates, but may beused with a variety of semiconductor substrates.

The embodiments of methods for forming dielectric layers containing anALD deposited dielectric layer contacting a conductive layer may also beapplied to forming capacitors in various integrated circuits, memorydevices, and electronic systems. In an embodiment including a capacitor400 illustrated in FIG. 4, a method may include forming a firstconductive layer 402, a second conductive layer 404, and a dielectrichaving either a single material formed in layers, such as ZrAlON asdiscussed above, or interleaved layers 406, 408, 410, 412, 414 and 416of two or more different dielectric materials, such as aluminum oxideand zirconium nitride, formed between the two conductive layers 402,404. The conductive layers 402 and 404 may include metals, dopedpolysilicon, silicided metals, polycides, tantalum nitride, and/orconductive organic compounds. The sequencing and thickness of theindividual dielectric layers 406, 408, 410, 412, 414 and 416 may dependon the application and may include a single layer of each material, onelayer of one of the materials and multiple layers of the other, andother combinations of layers including different layer thicknesses. Byselecting each layer thickness and the composition of each layer, ananolaminate structure (comprising 308-314, or 406-416) may beengineered to have a predetermined dielectric constant, work functionand composition.

In some embodiments, the total thickness of layers 408, 412 and 416 maybe approximately equal to the thickness of layers 406, 410 and 414,providing about a 50% concentration of a first material (for examplezirconium nitride) and a second material (for example aluminum oxide),resulting in a dielectric layer having a dielectric constant k abouthalf way between the dielectric constant 10 of aluminum oxide and thedielectric constant 30 of zirconium nitride. Although the dielectriclayers are shown in this illustrative example as being distinct layers,the oxide may be alloyed together to form a single material layer.Structures such as the nanolaminate structure 300, 400 shown in FIGS. 3and 4 may be used in NROM (non-volatile read-only memory) flash memorydevices as well as other integrated circuits. Transistors, capacitors,and other devices having dielectric films may be implemented in memorydevices and electronic systems including information handling devices.Embodiments of these information handling devices include wirelesssystems, telecommunication systems, computers, cameras, phones, radios,displays, chip sets, set top boxes, games, vehicles, and integratedcircuits.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram for an electronic system 500 having one ormore devices having a dielectric layer containing an atomic layerdeposited dielectric layer formed according to various embodiments. Theelectronic system 500 may include a controller 502, a bus 504, and anelectronic device 506, where the bus 504 provides electricalconductivity between the controller 502 and the electronic device 506.Electronic devices may include a memory, a logic device, a mixed signaldevice, a capacitor, transistors (e.g., a bipolar transistor, a MOStransistor), a telecommunication device, a display, a set top box, or aportion of a vehicle, and other devices having a dielectric layercontaining an ALD deposited dielectric layer, as described previously.In various embodiments, the controller 502 and/or electronic device 506may include a dielectric layer containing an ALD deposited dielectriclayer as previously discussed herein. Electronic system 500 may include,but are not limited to, information handling devices, wireless systems,telecommunication systems, fiber optic systems, electro-optic systems,and computers.

FIG. 6 depicts a diagram of an embodiment of a system 600 having acontroller 602 and a memory 606. The controller 602 and/or memory 606may include a dielectric layer having an ALD dielectric layer. Thesystem 600 may also include an electronic apparatus 608, and a bus 604,where the bus 604 may provide electrical conductivity and datatransmission between the controller 602 and the electronic apparatus608, and between the controller 602 and the memory 606. The bus 604 mayinclude an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus, eachindependently configured. The bus 604 may use common conductive linesfor providing address, data, and/or control, the use of which may beregulated by the controller 602. In some embodiments, the electronicapparatus 608 may include additional memory devices configured similarlyto memory 606. Some embodiments may include an additional peripheraldevice or devices 610 coupled to the bus 604. In some embodiments thecontroller 602 comprises a processor. Any of the controller 602, the bus204, the memory 606, the electronic apparatus 608, and the peripheraldevices 610 may include a dielectric layer having an ALD deposited oxidelayer in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

The System 600 may include, but is not limited to, information handlingdevices, telecommunication systems, and computers. Peripheral devices610 may include displays, additional storage memory, or other controldevices that may operate in conjunction with the controller 602 and/orthe memory 606. It will be understood that embodiments are equallyapplicable to any size and type of memory circuit and are not intendedto be limited to a particular type of memory device. Memory typesinclude a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), SRAM (Static RandomAccess Memory) or Flash memories. Additionally, the DRAM may comprise asynchronous DRAM commonly referred to as SGRAM (Synchronous GraphicsRandom Access Memory), SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory),SDRAM II, and DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM), as well as otheremerging DRAM technologies.

Forming zirconium aluminum oxynitride layers by ALD deposition may berealized using a mixture of precursors to form the ZrAlON in a singlestep, or by forming a laminated layer of various component members ofthe ZrAlON dielectric layer. The laminated layers may be annealed in ahigh temperature furnace or by RTA to form an essentially single layer.

There are numerous potential precursor chemicals including TMA and ZTB,and various reactant chemicals, including water vapor, that permit ALDto occur at relatively low temperatures, including at about 250° C. TheALD materials may be amorphous, providing protection from oxygendiffusion through the ZrAlON layer, and possess smooth surfaces. SuchALD dielectric films may provide enhanced electrical properties ascompared to physical deposition methods, such as sputtering or typicalchemical layer depositions, due to their smoother surface, and reducedprocess-induced surface damage, resulting in reduced leakage current.

Dielectric layers formed from zirconium nitride and aluminum oxide mayhave beneficial properties for gate dielectrics and capacitor dielectricmaterials as well, including thermal stability up to 900° C., arelatively high dielectric constant, and low leakage currents. Theconductive layers contacting the dielectric may include metals,semiconductor materials, polycrystalline semiconductor materials anddoped materials of either conductivity type.

Additionally, such dielectric layers may have higher dielectricconstants than silicon dioxide and thus provide a significantly thickerphysical thickness than a silicon oxide layer having the same electricalequivalent oxide thickness. The increased physical thickness may reducetunneling and dielectric breakdown leakage current issues. Theseproperties of ALD deposited dielectric layers may permit widespreadapplication as part of the dielectric layers forming portions ofelectronic devices and systems.

CONCLUSION

Methods of forming an electronic device including forming a dielectriclayer by using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique have beendescribed. Dielectrics having zirconium nitride, Zr₃N₄ and aluminumoxide, Al₂O₃ may be formed. The different dielectric layers may beannealed to form a single layer of ZrAlON, or the ALD process maydirectly form ZrAlON layers. Some embodiments include forming anintegrated circuit having a dielectric made by using an atomic layerdeposition to form a ZrAlON layer as a gate dielectric, and a conductivelayer on the dielectric to form a gate electrode. Some embodimentsinclude a method of forming a memory array having an atomic layerdeposited dielectric formed of zirconium nitride and zirconium oxide,contacting a conductive layer and forming an address decoder coupled tothe memory array.

Embodiments include structures for capacitors, transistors, memorydevices, and electronic systems with dielectric layers containing anatomic layer deposited ZrAlON dielectric, and methods for forming suchstructures. The dielectric may not have the exact formula ZrAlON, butmay have various ratios of zirconium to aluminum, and of oxygen tonitrogen to obtain various dielectric constants from perhaps as low as10, to as high as 25, or even 30, and in some embodiments, about 18,perhaps having improved oxygen diffusion barrier properties as thedielectric constant decreases. The resistance of the ZrAlON layer tocrystallization may depend upon the relative amount of aluminum, and atrelatively equal ratios of aluminum to zirconium may be stable up to900° C.

The detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show,by way of illustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which thepresent invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theembodiments. Other embodiments may be utilized, and structural, logical,and electrical changes may be made to the disclosed embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. The variousembodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodimentscan be combined with one or more other embodiments to form newembodiments.

The terms “wafer” and “substrate” used in the detailed descriptioninclude any structure having an exposed surface with which to form anintegrated circuit (IC) structure. The term “substrate” is understood toinclude semiconductor wafers. The term “substrate” is also used to referto semiconductor structures during processing, and may include otherlayers that have been fabricated thereupon. Both wafers and substratesmay include doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial semiconductorlayers supported by a base semiconductor or insulator, as well as othersemiconductor structures well known to one skilled in the art. The term“conductor” may include n-type and p-type semiconductors and the term“insulator” or “dielectric” is defined to include any material that isless electrically conductive than the materials referred to asconductors or as semiconductors.

The term “horizontal” as used in this document is defined as a planeparallel to the conventional plane or surface of a wafer or substrate,regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate. The term“vertical” refers to a direction perpendicular to the horizontal asdefined above. Prepositions, such as “on”, “side” (as in “sidewall”),“higher”, “lower”, “over” and “under” are defined with respect to theconventional plane or surface being on the top surface of the wafer orsubstrate, regardless of the orientation of the wafer or substrate.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose maybe substituted for the specific embodiments shown. It is to beunderstood that the above description is intended to be illustrative,and not restrictive, and that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments will beapparent to those of skill in the art upon studying the abovedescription. The scope of the various embodiments should be determinedwith reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

1. An electronic device comprising: an amorphous dielectric layercontaining an atomic layer deposited dielectric layer of zirconiumnitride and an atomic layer deposited dielectric layer of aluminum oxidein an integrated circuit; and a conductive layer contacting thedielectric layer.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein theelectronic device includes a transistor in the integrated circuit, thetransistor having the dielectric layer as a gate insulator and theconductive layer as a gate in the transistor.
 3. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein the amorphous dielectric layer includesZr_(x)Al_(2-X)O_(Y)N_(2-Y), where X and Y are each between 0.5 to 1.5.4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein X=1 and Y=1.
 5. Theelectronic device of claim 3, wherein the dielectric layer has adielectric constant of about
 18. 6. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the electronic device includes a capacitor having the dielectriclayer as a dielectric material between two electrodes in the capacitor,and the conductive layer as one of the two electrodes.
 7. The electronicdevice of claim 1, further comprising: a controller coupled to theamorphous dielectric layer.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinthe electronic device includes at least one of a memory, a logic device,a mixed signal device, a capacitor, a bipolar transistor, a MOStransistor, a telecommunication device, a display, a set top box, or aportion of a vehicle.
 9. An electronic device comprising: an amorphousdielectric layer containing an atomic layer deposited dielectric layerof zirconium aluminum oxynitride disposed over a semiconductorsubstrate; and a conductive material contacting the dielectric layer.10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the zirconium aluminumoxynitride layer has a dielectric constant of 17 to 19, and a formula ofZr_(X)Al_(2-X)O_(Y)N_(2-Y), where X and Y are each between 0.75 to 1.25.11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic deviceincludes a diffusion barrier layer between the amorphous dielectriclayer and the semiconductor substrate.
 12. The electronic device ofclaim 9, wherein the conductive material includes a metal, dopedpolysilicon, a silicided metal, a conductive polycide, a conductivemetal nitride, a conductive organic compound, or a combination thereof.13. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the amorphous dielectriclayer includes a nanolaminate.
 14. The electronic device of claim 13,wherein the nanolaminate includes a layer of dielectric zirconiumnitride.
 15. The electronic device of claim 13, wherein the nanolaminateis disposed as a charge storage region in a NROM flash memory device.16. A method comprising: forming a dielectric layer on a substratecontaining at least one aluminum oxide layer and at least one zirconiumnitride layer using an atomic layer deposition; and forming anelectrically conductive layer on the dielectric layer.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein forming the dielectric layer includes forming anamorphous dielectric.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein the substrateincludes at least one conductive layer disposed below the dielectriclayer.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the substrate includes atleast two diffused regions having a first conductivity type, separatedby a region of a second conductivity type disposed below the dielectriclayer and metal layer.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein a ratio ofzirconium to aluminum is about
 1. 21. The method of claim 16, wherein adielectric constant of the dielectric layer is about
 18. 22. The methodof claim 16, wherein the aluminum oxide layer comprises a plurality ofindividually deposited aluminum oxide layers, and each individual one ofthe layers is less than or equal to two monolayers in thickness.
 23. Themethod of claim 22, wherein each individual one of the aluminum oxidelayers has a thickness of about 1.3 to 1.5 Angstroms.
 24. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the dielectric layer has a root mean square surfaceroughness that is less than one tenth of the layer thickness.
 25. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the dielectric film is separated from thesubstrate by a diffusion barrier.